


Looking Like That

by cottonpadenthusiast



Series: The Oneshots [6]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Best Friends, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Oblivious Draco Malfoy, Oblivious Harry Potter, eighth year common room, hand-holding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 17:28:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17228246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cottonpadenthusiast/pseuds/cottonpadenthusiast
Summary: Ficlet in response to prompt: "Stop looking at me like that."





	Looking Like That

The late summer sun fell gently into the eighth year common room, casting a warm glow over the empty chairs and tables. Sounds of laughter and shouts came through the open window and a soft breeze kept the warm cool.

Draco sat on the sofa, eyes skimming over his book and legs curled up underneath him. He loved days like these, where the violent battle from the year before seemed like a distant memory, and the quiet common room provided the perfect opportunity for peaceful reading.

He did not, however, enjoy the company.

Harry Potter lay beside him, his toes tickling Draco’s thigh and a book lying forgotten on the floor. He had been staring into nothing for the past ten minutes and Draco had been forced to stop himself from reaching out and smoothing the lines between his brows with his thumb.

Draco had been close friends with Harry Potter for six months. He had been in love with Harry Potter for four.

Loving Harry Potter, Draco had soon realised, was like living in a world where all focus seemed to point to him. A world of constant distraction.

Harry had always been distracting, but now it was more due to the fact Harry had very kissable lips, instead of a very punchable face. Most of Draco’s days were spent stopping himself from doing or saying something that would reveal the depth of his feelings for Harry. Most of Draco’s nights were spent wishing these feelings would disappear, wishing that whatever he felt wouldn’t ruin everything..

A part of Draco knew that by falling for Harry, he already had.

Draco sighed, trying to focus on the words in front of him. He could at least read a couple of sentences without getting distracted again. However, the sense of being watched had Draco glancing up.

Harry was staring at him, his green eyes full of something that Draco couldn’t place. His intense gaze instantly sent shivers down Draco’s spine.

“Stop looking at me like that,” Draco mumbled, hoping his cheeks weren’t pink.

“Like what?” Harry replied, his gaze unwavering.

“Like _that!”_ Draco swallowed. In a quieter voice, he said, “Like I’m something worth looking at.”

Harry paused. “But you are.”

“Don’t, Harry. Please.”

“Draco, I don’t know what’s so bad-”

“Friends don’t look at each other like that!” Draco interrupted, hating the way his heart was hammering in his chest as Harry still gazed at him, hating how even a glance had him crumbling. 

“Just… don’t look at me like that. It’ll mess me up. It will mess everything up.”

Harry was suddenly on his knees and moving closer to Draco. “Maybe I want to mess everything up.”

“Harry…” Draco somehow felt much hotter than before, as Harry inched closer and closer, the green eyes slowly dropping to Draco’s lips. Draco pushed himself against the edge of the sofa, trying to get further away from the heavy gaze yet every cell in his body telling him to do the opposite.

Harry stopped, his face only centimetres from Draco’s own. “If messing everything up means getting to kiss you and hold you and be with you every day, then I don’t care.”

The majority of Draco’s brain had stopped working at this point, his mind too preoccupied with Harry’s lips almost touching his own, but one part managed to squeeze out a reply.

“Then I don’t care either.”

Draco didn’t know how it happened, only that Harry’s hands were suddenly cupping his cheeks and Draco’s fingers were curled into Harry’s hair and their lips had somehow met in the middle. And it was bliss.

Their lips moved surely against each other and it was better than any classroom daydream that Draco had made up in his head. It was better than all the times Draco had imagined what it would feel like to kiss Harry Potter, because this Harry Potter was real and in his arms and Draco could feel his rapid heartbeat against his own.

They kissed for a long time, Draco both wishing he had done this sooner yet thanking whatever gods were out there for this, for Harry Potter. And when the light faded from the room and the voices of other pupils drew close, they pulled apart, lips swollen and grins wide.

Harry took Draco’s hand in his own and squeezed as their friends loudly entered the common room.

Draco knew this was dangerous, that kissing Harry Potter could ruin their friendship for good. But Draco had learned that life was about risks and Harry Potter seemed like a good one to take.

Draco squeezed back.


End file.
